This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
How much do you value your financial health, time, and self-image?
Filled with excitement, they always chose the lowest option, which I always find baffling.
At least choose a middle option!
But they don’t even do that.
Some of them chose $1.00, and I’m like, damn.
In essence, people ultimately told me how much they measured their service and themselves.
Of course, everyone is priceless, but these people didn’t demonstrate that they felt that about themselves. They didn’t even feel their time was worth a standard tip. At least give yourself that!
How often do we do the same to ourselves?
Probably more often than you think.
If you don’t…
Invest for retirement
Increase your pay yearly
Spend less than you earn
Negotiate higher salary/pay/contracts
Your actions demonstrate that you don’t prioritize your financial health or time; time is priceless.
A lot of people get shy around money. They feel uneasy about asking for money from others, which is also why they don’t ask for it from themselves by paying themselves first.
Recently, I told a couple of financially struggling they should save the extra money coming in for the month of March.
Want to know what they said to my advice?
Nothing.
They’re so used to spending everything they have, not saving, not investing, not paying themselves first, and charging mediocre rates for their world-class service that they don’t recognize the opportunity they have to shift their financial situation.
Creating A Better Financial Outcome Starts With…
You.
If you desire to transform your finances, you must shift how you view your time, services, and yourself.
Time
Some people know they want to get paid by the minute, so they will never charge less than $1/minute. Others feel uncomfortable with this and charge less. Then you have people who find this to be beans.
We all have our own pay scales that define our financial level of comfort but don’t be shy when it comes to relating your pay to your time. You can’t get time back.
Service
If you’re giving quality service – as many of the people did who I asked to choose their tip, don’t sell yourself short by not taking advantage of financial opportunities.
Believe you’re worth it.
Self-Image
How much you’re paid can be linked to your self-image. People with higher self-images tend to be paid more. This is not the case in every instance, but it is frequently the case.
I’ll use myself as an example. When I first graduated college, I wanted to earn x dollar amount, which my present self would instantly decline. That’s self-image. And my rate only increases as time moves forward.
When you have a healthy self-image, you prioritize preparing for your financial future. You don’t want to leave things up to chance. You take charge of your financial destiny to create better financial outcomes.
The couple I mentioned above does not value their financial health, which will continue hurting them if they don’t change their behavior.
Less Opinion, More Portfolio
People who invest in their appearance more than their financial portfolio care more about others’ opinions than their opinions of themselves.
Seems like an off way to live for decades. The worst thing about it is that all the things they buy over the years only diminish in value versus the investments they declined, which would have only increased in value.
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This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.